Research & Commentary Results

Like pieces fitting together in a jigsaw puzzle, Arab governments – presumably from the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council – offered to finance a U.S. military strike on Syria, according to comments made by Secretary of State John Kerry during testimony September 4 with the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In an exchange with Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) on the potential cost of U.S. military action in Syria, Kerry said,

When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and his foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, issued unequivocal pledges of support for Egypt’s military government and its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, their move was widely depicted in the news media as a logical extension of the kingdom’s opposition to revolutionary movements in the Arab world. This simplistic view overlooks the fact that Saudi Arabia has responded differently to different uprisings—it supports the rebels in Syria, helped to crush them in Bahrain—and that aligning itself with Egypt’s new rulers could be a risky strategy.

An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel by Jeff Halper, 2008

Since the 1970s oil boom, the Gulf region has been one of the principal destinations for workers from South Asia, with the result that today Indians constitute a large percentage of the non-nationals living in the region. Indeed, at five million out of an estimated 15 million people, the Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in each of the Gulf countries. Most Indian immigrants are from the south Indian state of Kerala, while many of the rest originate from Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

When the young Shaykh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani became ruler of Qatar last month after his father stepped aside in a seamless transition, one of his first official acts was to seal the generational shift by appointing a new prime minister.

The dramatic events of July 3, which saw the unseating of Egypt’s first and only democratically-elected government by a military coup stimulated by enormous popular demonstrations, has created a huge question mark as to the future governance of the Arab world’s largest and most important country. The ramifications and repercussions will be playing out for months and years, whatever steps are taken in the next days and weeks. However, two parties acutely affected by these events are watching with particular concern.

Malaysia’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has long been amicable and fruitful. Indeed, Malaysian-Saudi relations have deeper historical roots than are commonly recognized. During the contemporary period, the religio-cultural, economic, and other aspects of the bilateral relationship have expanded. In fact, Malaysian-Saudi relations are complex, multifaceted, and have significant potential for further development.

…in any peace agreement, the Palestinian area must be demilitarized. No army, no control of air space. Real effective measures to prevent arms coming in, not what’s going on now in Gaza. Israel must govern its own fate and security. (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, June 14, 2009)[1]

Soon after arriving, I was surprised to find out from long-serving local staff at the Embassy and a few Indians who had resided in Saudi Arabia for more than three decades that I was the first non-Muslim Foreign Service Officer to serve in the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Amb. Thomas Pickering, Col. Philip Dermer, and Geoffrey Aronson for a discussion of their new report entitled “U.S. Policy in a Time of Transition: Ending Occupation, Enhancing Israel’s Security, Realizing Palestinian Sovereignty.” This report is the product of an independent study group chaired by Ambassador Pickering. Principal authors Geoffrey Aronson and Col.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Amb. Thomas Pickering, Col. Philip Dermer, and Geoffrey Aronson for a discussion of their new report entitled “U.S. Policy in a Time of Transition: Ending Occupation, Enhancing Israel’s Security, Realizing Palestinian Sovereignty.” This report is the product of an independent study group chaired by Ambassador Pickering. Principal authors Geoffrey Aronson and Col.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Amb. Thomas Pickering, Col. Philip Dermer, and Geoffrey Aronson for a discussion of their new report entitled “U.S. Policy in a Time of Transition: Ending Occupation, Enhancing Israel’s Security, Realizing Palestinian Sovereignty.” This report is the product of an independent study group chaired by Ambassador Pickering. Principal authors Geoffrey Aronson and Col.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Amb. Thomas Pickering, Col. Philip Dermer, and Geoffrey Aronson for a discussion of their new report entitled “U.S. Policy in a Time of Transition: Ending Occupation, Enhancing Israel’s Security, Realizing Palestinian Sovereignty.” This report is the product of an independent study group chaired by Ambassador Pickering. Principal authors Geoffrey Aronson and Col.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Amb. Thomas Pickering, Col. Philip Dermer, and Geoffrey Aronson for a discussion of their new report entitled “U.S. Policy in a Time of Transition: Ending Occupation, Enhancing Israel’s Security, Realizing Palestinian Sovereignty.” This report is the product of an independent study group chaired by Ambassador Pickering. Principal authors Geoffrey Aronson and Col.

DR. ROBERT BIANCHI INTERVIEWED

In The Guardian, May 8, 2013

“China welcomes Binyamin Netanyahu—Visits from Israeli prime minister and president prompt speculation about China’s possible role as a Middle East mediator.”

Interview with Tania Branigan on the simultaneous visits to China of Binyamin Netanyahu and Muhammad Abbas to China

On China Radio International, May 8, 2013